Makedonika Collection - Ancient Macedonia

MAKEDONIKA
The Ancient Macedonian Testimonies (Literary Sources)

Firstly we intend to examine the ancient evidence on the way the Ancient Macedonians
were defining themselves in reference to their own identity. Concerning their own beliefs
about themselves we shall review the available evidence coming from the ancient
sources, both Literary and Archaeological.

A. The Literary Evidence

The first available evidence comes from the Macedonian king Alexander I during his
speech to Atheneans. Essentially we have a clear confession that Alexander considers
himself a Greek.

Had I not greatly at heart the Common welfare of Greece I should not have come to tell
you; but I am myself Greek by descent, (“te gar Hellên genos eimi tôrchaion“) and I
would not willingly see Greece exchange freedom for slavery. …If you prosper in
this war, forget not to do something for my freedom; consider the risk I have run, out of
zeal for the Greek Cause,….I am Alexander of Macedon‘1

Another cited excerpt makes it even more clear that Alexander I was proud of his
Hellenic identity. While speaking to Persians:

Tell your king who sent you how a Greek man, viceroy of the Macedonians (“anêr Hellên
– Makedonôn hyparchos”)has received you hospitably… “2

Furthermore Herodotus provides us with a clear-cut testimony about their Hellenic
identity from the members of the Macedonian royal house themselves.

1
Herodotus 9.45
2
Herodotus 5.20.4
1

“Now that these descendants of Perdiccas are Hellenes ( “Hellênas de einai“), as they
themselves say(“kata per autoi legousi“), I myself chance to know” 3

The letter of Alexander the Great to Darius is a mere proof of the Hellenic Identity of
Macedonians.

Your ancestors invaded Macedonia and the rest of Greece (“Makedonian kai eis tên
allên Hellada”) and did US great harm though WE had done them no prior injury [...] I
have been appointed hegemon of the Greeks [...]4

Followed by an apparent demonstration of their Hellenic identity and Cause
during Alexander’s speech to his army. Simultaneously we have a clear distinction
between Greeks and the Foreign elements of Alexander’s army.

There are Greek troops, to be sure, in Persian service — but how different is their cause
from ours ! They will be fighting for pay— and not much of it at that; WE on the
contrary shall fight for Greece (“tous de xyn sfisin yper tis Ellados ekontas
amynomenous”) , and our hearts will be in it. As for our Foreign (“barbarwn te”)
troops —Thracians, Paeonians, Illyrians,Agrianes — they are the best and stoutest
soldiers of Europe.5

We find Alexander saying in:

But Alexander replied that he intended to punish the persians for their invasion of
Greece, the destruction of Athens, the burning of the temples, and all manner of
terrible things done to the Greeks: because of these things, he was exacting
revenge. 6

On another occasion while he was speaking to Thessalians and other Greeks:

On this occasion, he [Alexander] made a very long speech to the Thessalians and the other
Greeks, and when he saw that they encouraged him with shouts to lead them against the

3
Herodotus 5.22.1
4
Arrian Anab. 2.14.4 [Translation by Aubrey De Seliucourt]
5
Arrian Anab 2.7 [Translation by Aubrey De Seliucourt]
6
Arrian Anab. 3. 18. 11-12 [Translation by Aubrey De Seliucourt]
2

Barbarians, he shifted his lance into his left hand, and with his right appealed to the gods,
as Callisthenes tells us, praying them, if he was really sprung from Zeus, to defend and
strengthen the Greeks7

While Speaking to his own Macedonian Commanders:

Alexander called a meeting of his generals the next day. He told them that no city was more
hateful to the Greeks than Persepolis, the capital of the old kings of Persia, the city
from which troops without number had poured forth, from which first Darius and then Xerxes
had waged an unholy war on Europe. To appease the spirits of their forefathers they
should wipe it out, he said.8

One more testimony from Alexander himself comes in:

As for Alexander, it is generally agreed that, when sleep had brought him back to his
senses after his drunken bout, he regretted his actions and said that the Persians would
have suffered a more grievous punishment at the hands of the Greeks had they been
forced to see HIM on Xerxes’ throne and in his palace.9

In Plutarch we find:

7
Plutarch. Alex (ed. B. Perrin) XXXIII:
8
Curtius Rufus 5.6.1
9
Curtius Rufus 5.8
3

But he said, ‘If I were not Alexandros, I should be Diogenes’; that is to say: `If it
were not my purpose to combine barbarian things with things Hellenic, to
traverse and civilize every continent, to search out the uttermost parts of land and
sea, to push the bounds of Macedonia to the farthest ocean and to disseminate
and shower the blessings of the Hellenic Justice and peace over every nation, I
should not be content to sit quietly in the luxury of idle power, but I should
emulate the frugality of Diogenes. But as things are, forgive me Diogenes, that I
imitate Herakles, and emulate Perseus, and follow in the footsteps of Dionysos,
the divine author and progenitor of my family, and Desire that Victorious
Hellenes should dance again in India [...]“10

In the Dedication of Alexander to Athena Polias:

Alexander, son of Philip, and the Greeks, except the Lacedaemonians, from the
barbarian inhabitans in Asia.11

Another clear sign of his Hellenic self-identification is shown explicitely in the event with
Daniel’s Prophesy:

And when the book of Daniel was showed to him (Alexander) wherein Daniel declared that
one of the Greeks should destroy the empire of the Persians, he [Alexander] supposed
that himself was the person intended.12

During the Event with Spitamenes’ wife:

The savagery of the deed carried more weight with him than gratitude for the favour,
however, and he had her ordered from the camp. He did not want her tainting the
character and civilized temperament of the Greeks with this example of
Barbarian lawlessness.13

The Macedonian Philip V verifies his Greek identity:

10
Plutarch’s Moralia, On the Fortune of Alexander, 332A
11
Arrian, I, 16, 10
12
Josephus 11.8.5
13
Curtius Rufus 8.15
4

For on many occasions when I and the other Greeks sent embassies to you begging you
to remove from your statutes the law empowering you to get booty from booty, you replied
that you would rather remove Aetolia from Aetolia than that law.14

In the Treaty between Hannibal of Carthage and Philip V of Macedon we find a clear-cut
reference to “Macedonia and the rest of Greece”:

In the presence of Zeus, Hera, and Apollo: in the presence of the Genius of Carthage, of
Heracles, and Iolaus: in the presence of Ares, Triton, and Poseidon: in the presence of the
gods who battle for us and the Sun, Moon, and Earth; in the presence of Rivers, Lakes, and
Waters: 3 in the presence of all the gods who possess Macedonia and the Rest of
Greece: in the presence of all the gods of the army who preside over this oath. 4 Thus saith
Hannibal the general, and all the Carthaginian senators with him, and all Carthaginians
serving with him, that as seemeth good to you and to us, so should we bind ourselves by
oath to be even as friends, kinsmen, and brothers, on these conditions. 5 (1) That King
Philip and the Macedonians and the Rest of the Greeks who are their allies shall
protect the Carthaginians, the supreme lords, and Hannibal their general, and those with
him, and all under the dominion of Carthage who live under the same laws; likewise the
people of Utica and all cities and peoples that are subject to Carthage, and our soldiers and
allies 6 and cities and peoples in Italy, Gaul, and Liguria, with whom we are in alliance or
with whomsoever in this country we may hereafter enter into alliance.15

In the speech of the ambassador of Macedonia to the Aitolians:

The Aitolians, the Akarnanians, the Macedonians, men of the SAME speech, are
united or disunited by trivial causes that arise from time to time; with aliens, with
barbarians, all Greeks wage and will wage eternal war; for they are enemies by the will of
nature, which is eternal, and not from reasons that change from day to day.16

While the Macedonian troops found a Greek man and burst into tears when they heard
Greek spoken:

There a man appeared to them, wearing a Greek cloak, and dressed otherwise in
the Greek fashion, and speaking Greek also. Those [Macedonians] who first
sighted him said that they burst into tears, so strange did it seem after all these
miseries to see a Greek, and to hear Greek spoken. They asked whence he came, who
he was; and he said that he had become separated from Alexander’s camp, and that the

14
Polybius, 18.4.8
15
Polybius, 7. 9. 4
16
Livius, From the Foundation of the City 31
5

camp, and Alexander himself, were not very far distant. Shouting aloud and clapping their
hands they brought this man to Nearchus. 17

Conclusion:

The evidence cited previously from various ancient literary sources help us to
comprehend how the ancient Macedonians identified themselves. The conclusion is
inescapable: Even if the amount of ancient Macedonian testimonies is limited, the
available evidence points out explicitely that Ancient Macedonians identified themselves
more or less as Greek. Macedonians are the same people who had Greek names, spoke
Greek, renamed or build Greek cities, having of course Greek names, worshiped the
Greek Pantheon, participated in Pan-Hellenic games and waged a Pan-Hellenic war
against Persia while they spread everywhere they passed the Greek language and Greek
Culture. The message they left is quite clear. They identified themselves as Greeks.

B. The Archaeological Evidence.

[1] Pella Katadesmos

The Pella curse tablet is a curse or magic spell (Greek: κατάδεσμος, katadesmos)
inscribed on a lead scroll, dating to the 4th or 3rd century BC. It was found in Pella (at
the time capital of Macedon) in 1986 and published in the Hellenic Dialectology Journal in
1993. It is possibly the only attested text in the ancient Macedonian language (O.
Masson).

It is a magic spell or love charm written by a woman, possibly named Dagina, whose
lover Dionysophōn (i.e. “Voice of Dionysus“) is apparently about to marry Thetima (i.e.
“she who honors the gods”; the standard Attic form would be Theotimē). She invokes
“Makron and the demons” (parkattithemai makrōni kai [tois] daimosi, Attic would be para-

17
Arrian, “The Indica” XXXIII
6

kata-tithemai) to cause Dionysophon to marry her rather than Thetima, and never to
marry another woman unless she herself recovers and unrolls the scroll.

Katadesmoi or defixiones were spells written on non-perishable material, such as lead,
stone or baked clay, and were secretly buried to ensure their physical integrity, which
would then guarantee the permanence of their intended effects.

The language is a harsh but distinctly recognizable form of North-West or Doric
Greek, and the low social status of its writer, as evidenced by her vocabulary, strongly
hint that a unique form of Doric Greek was spoken by lay people in Pella at the time the
tab was written (see below, Dating and Significance). Brixhe and Panayotou (1994:209)
think a Macedonian origin of the text probable, but they suggest that the population of
Pella was not homogeneously autochthonic, and they prefer to wait for a second find
before making a definitive statement.

Before the publication of the Pella katadesmos’ findings in 1993, it was proposed that
Doric Greek may have been spoken in pre-Hellenistic Macedon as a second dialect in
addition to a Macedonian dialect (Rhomiopoulou, 1980).

The Greek version:
1. [Θετί]μας και Διονυσοφώντος το τέλος και τον γάμον καταγράφω και ταν αλλάν
πασάν γυ-
2. [ναικ]ών και χηράν και παρθένων, μάλιστα δε Θετίμας, και παρκαττίθεμαι
Μάκρωνι και
3. [τοις]δαίμοσι, και οπόκα εγώ ταύτα διελ<ί>ξαιμι και αναγνοίην πάλ<L>ιν
ανορ<ύ>ξασα
4. [τόκα]γάμαι Διονυσοφώντα, πρότερον δε μη μη γαρ λάβοι άλλαν γυναίκα αλλ’
εμέ,
5. [εμέ δ]έ συνκαταγηράσαι Διονυσοφώντι και μηδεμίαν άλλαν, ικέτις υμώ<ν> γίνο-
6. [μαι, Φίλ]αν οικτίρετε δαίμονες φίλ[ο]ι, ΔΑΓΙΝΑΓΑΡΙΜΕ φίλων πάντων και
έρημα, αλλά
7. [....]α φυλάσσετε εμίν ό[π]ως μη γίνεται τα[ύ]τα και κακά κακώς Θετίμα
απόληται.
8. [....]ΑΛ[-].ΥΝΜ .. ΕΣΠΛΗΝ εμός, εμέ δε [ε]υ[δ]αίμονα και μακαρίαν γενέσται.
9. [-]ΤΟ[.].[-].[..]..Ε.Ε.Ω[?]Α.[.]Ε..ΜΕΓΕ [-]

The English Translation:

1. On the formal wedding of [Theti]ma and Dionysophon I write a curse, and of
all other
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2. wo[men], widows and virgins, but of Thetima in particular, and I entrust upon
Makron and
3. [the] demons that only whenever I dig out and unroll and re-read this,
4. [then] may they wed Dionysophon, but not before; and may he never wed any
woman but me;
5. and may [I] grow old with Dionysophon, and no one else. I [am] your
supplicant:
6. Have mercy on [your dear one], dear demons, Dagina(?), for I am abandoned of
all my dear ones.
7. But please keep this for my sake so that these events do not happen and
wretched Thetima perishes miserably
8. and to me grant [ha]ppiness and bliss.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pella_katadesmos

[2] Decree from Boule and Demos of Ephesos making month of Artemision holy; AD
162/164

8

Transl of the underlined text: “Macedonians and the REST of Greek ethne
(“Makedosin kai tis loipois ethnesin tois Ellinikois“)

[3] Damon’s Decree

Around 143/142 BC, Damon the Macedonian, son of Nicanor, from the city of
Thessalonica, paid with his own money and erected a statue of copper in Olympia,
honouring Q.Caecilius Metellus. In the statue’s inscription it is written as motives of this
honouring the virtue of the honoured and the sympathetic actions of Quintus Metellus to
“Macedonians and the rest of Greeks“. What is more interesting is that the statue was
erected from Damon the Macedonian in Olympia, the most important Hellenic centre of
that era and it reveals Macedonians saw themselves as Greeks.

[4]Decree about the founding of Ptolemais from Ptolemy I

The original language of the inscription is:

[Resolved by the boule and demos....Theos Soter [founded] a Greek city in [the
Thebaid]…making its name Ptolemais [fron himself, and becoming its patron] To it the
king sent [...settlers from...]and from Argos [and from..and from Lacedaimo]n and from
Thes[saly?] and from..the [council and people] decreed [to...]

Decree about the founding of Ptolemais from Ptolemy I. The inscription itself is a
Hadrianic copy of an early Ptolemaic decree.
9

[5] Dedication by Alexander the Great to Athena Polias

Greek, around 330 BC
From Priene, Asia Minor

In 336 BC Alexander the Great embarked on a programme of territorial expansion,
which would eventually extend the boundaries of the Greek world to Egypt in the
south and to India in the East. In 334 BC Alexander crossed the Hellespont, the narrow
strait separating Europe and Asia, and went first to Troy. There he dedicated his armour
to Athena and laid a wreath at the tomb of Achilles, the legendary hero and champion
of the Greeks in the Trojan War. This act prefigured Alexander’s role as a new
Achilles liberating the Greek cities of Asia Minor from Asiatic rule.

That same summer of 334 BC, a successful engagement with the Persian army at the
river Granicus, east of Troy, opened the gates of Asia Minor, and Alexander proceeded
to tour the Greek cities of the west coast, expelling their Persian garrisons.

On reaching Priene, he made a further dedication to Athena. There the townspeople
were laying out their new city and building a temple to its patron goddess. Alexander
offered funds to complete the temple, and the inscription on this wall block, cut into a
block of marble, records his gift. The inscription was found in the nineteenth century by
the architect-archaeologist Richard Pullan leading an expedition on behalf of the Society
of Dilettanti. It reads: ‘King Alexander dedicated the Temple to Athena Polias’.

10

B.F. Cook, Greek inscriptions (London, The British Museum Press, 1987)

Gift of the Society of Dilettanti
GR 1870.3-20.88 (Inscription 399 and 400)
Room 78, Classical inscriptions, north wall

B.F. Cook, Greek inscriptions (London, The British Museum Press, 1987), pp. 21-22,
fig. 12

http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/gr/d/dedication_
by_alexander.aspx

[6] Ptolemaios, son of Glaukias testimony

In 163 BC the Macedonian Ptolemaios, son of Glaukias living in Memphis of
Ptolemaic Egypt, sends a letter to the ruler of his place because he is getting harrased
from the Egyptians of one temple despite the fact that he is…GREEK.

eisebiazonto boulomenoi exspasai me kai agagisai, kathaper kai en tois proteron xronois
epexeirisan ousis apostaseos, para to Ellina me einai

[7] Alexander’s letter to Chians

11

In 334 BCE, Alexander invaded Asia as leader (hegemon) of the Corinthian league, the
alliance of Greek cities and the Macedonian king that was to fight against the
Achaemenid Empire.

One of the articles of the Corinthian treaty stated that the Greek towns were to
remain autonomous, and that their constitutions were to remain unchanged.

However, the Greek cities in Asia Minor were no members, and Alexander did
interfere with their internal affairs, as is shown in the following letter to the people of the
island of Chios.

The inscription was translated by J.C. Yardley.

From king Alexander to the people of Chios,
written in the prytany of Deisitheos:[1]

All those exiled from Chios are to return [2], and the constitution on Chios is to be
democratic. Drafters of legislation are to be selected to write and emend the laws so as to
ensure that there be no impediment to a democratic constitution and the return of the exiles.
Anything already emended or drafted is to be referred to Alexander.

The people of Chios are to supply twenty triremes, with crews, at their own expense, and
these are to sail for as long as the rest of the Greek naval force accompanies us at sea.

With respect to those men who betrayed the city to the barbarians, all those who
escaped are to be exiled from all the cities that share the peace [of Corinth], and to be liable to
seizure under the decree of the Greeks. Those who have been caught are to be brought
back and tried in the Council of the Greeks. In the event of disagreement between those
who have returned and those in the city, in that matter they are to be judged by us.

Until a reconciliation is reached among the people of Chios, they are to have in their midst
a garrison of appropriate strength installed by king Alexander. The people of Chios are to
maintain the garrison.

Remark 1:
The prytany of Deisitheos was probably in 334, but the formula “from king Alexander” is
not common before the battle of Issus in 333.

Remark 2:
One of the returned exiles was the historian Theopompus.

12

[8] The Trial of Agonippos

One, not so wide known inscription, stating the same, is the inscription of Mytilene in
332 BC. Its about the imminent conviction of Agonipos, tyrant of Eressos. He was put in
that seat from Memnon and afterwards Agonippos fought in the side of Persians. In the
following inscription it says clearly Agonnipos went on war against “Alexander and the
Greeks”. Of course Macedonians are included as Greeks.

B. Fragment 2 (front face). The trial of Agonippos

[those] who had been besieged [on the] acropolis he [--] and from the ci|tizens he exacted
twenty thousand slaters, [and] | he repeatedly plun dered the Greeks with his raids, and
the altars he razed || to the ground, (the altars) of Zeus [Ph|ilippi[os]; and after a war
had been instituted by him against Alexander and the Greeks, | he stripped the citizens
of their weapons, excluded (them) from the city en masse, and, after their wiv|es and
their daughters had been seized by him and imprisoned || on the acropolis, three
thousand and two hundred | slaters he exacted (from them); the city and the temples |
he pillaged with his pirates and burned down, and | (he) burned along with them the

13

bodies [of the] citizens; and finally he went to Alexander and gave || a false account and
slandered the citizens. They shall try | him under oath by secret vote regarding |
(whether to put him to) death. And if the death penalty is voted, after a counter-proposal
(for punishment) has been put forward by Agonippos, the second vote | shall be made,
(to indicate) in what way he ought to di||e. If, after Agonippos has been convicted by
the court, [ anyone tries to restore any of the family of Agonippos or makes a motion or
proposal I about (their) return or about the restoration of their property, ac|cursed shall
be that man both himself and his family, and in all other respects let him be liable to the
law [that] (is aimed at anyone) by whom the stele || is destroyed, (the stele) that
concerns the tyrants and their descend|ants- And a solemn vow shall be made in the
assembly immediatelyy that the man who in making his judgement also brings
assistance to (he city | and to justice shall prosper but that to those who contrary to
justjice cast their vote the opposite of this (shall happen). [| A decision was reached,
(There were) eight
hundred and eighty-three (voters). Out of | these, seven acquitted, the rest condem|ned.

[9] The Stele of Xanthos

”The early cemetery of the marketplace of Pella gave us the most important findings.
From the end of 5th c. BC. originates the tomb stele of Xanthos, a relatively poor child. In
order to construct the small stele, a piece of marble was re-used. The inscription of the
stele writes:

ΞΑΝΘΟΣ/
ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟ/
Υ ΚΑΙ ΑΜΑ/
ΔΙΚΑΣ ΥΙΟΣ

“Special interest displays the mitronymic Amadika. The name appears to originate
from the root am- where it derives also the homeric verb ‘amao’ αμά-ω (mow) and the
macedonian ending -dika. Remember the name Eurydika. Observe the normal formation
of the Macedonian ending in -a instead of -i.
So while the examples before a few years were few, today almost daily they are
increasing with the discoveries of archaeology”

Translating from John Akamatis.

Ã‡ Ã£Ã«Ã¾Ã³Ã³Ã¡ Ã´Ã¹Ã* Ã¡Ã±Ã·Ã¡ÃŸÃ¹Ã* ÃŒÃ¡ÃªÃ¥Ã¤Ã¼Ã*Ã¹Ã* – Ã Ã Ã¡
Ã³Ã´Ã¯Ã©Ã·Ã¥ÃŸÃ¡ Ã¡Ã°Ã¼ Ã´Ã§Ã* Ã Ã Ã«Ã«Ã¡

14

A collection of Decrees related to Alexander the Great. All the decrees left behind
from ancient Macedonians of course are written in Greek.

1-Letter to chian-king alexander

2- 2 letter to chians-king alexander

15

3- ionia priene-king alexander,334bc

16

4- delphi-king alexander,324 bc-

17

5-maked-kalindria-king alexandros.4cth bc

18

6-letter to chian by king alexander,334 bc

19

7-delphi-king alexandros,321 bc

20

8-amorgos-king alexander

21

9-delphi-alexandros,170 bc

22

10. maked-samos-king alexandros

THESE DECREES WERE KINDLY SENT BY SAMIOS MAKEDONAS

Conclusion:

These are only a few of the numerous inscriptions which Archaeologists brought to
light in Macedonia and elsewhere. More than 5,000 inscriptions written in Greek is the
best evidence of the Greek ethnicity of ancient Macedonians. Once again the conslusion
is inescapable: Archaeological Evidence in conjunction with linguistic analysis of
inscriptions and names proves the diachronic cultural identification of the
Macedonians with the rest of the Greeks.

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Alexander’s Bust

“Macedonia and the Rest of Greece” in the ancient Literary & Epigraphical
sources

• Arrian II.14.4: “Macedonia and the rest of Greece” (..Είς Μακεδονίαν και είς την
άλλην Ελλάδα)
• Polybius 7.9.3: “Macedonia and the rest of Greece” (..Μακεδονίαν και τήν άλλην
Ελλάδα)
• Strabo, 7.9: “Macedonia, of course, is a part of Greece[..]without taking her
[Macedonia] from the rest of Greece” (..έστι µεν ουν Ελλάς και η
Μακεδονίαν[...]χωρίς έγνωµεν αυτήν από της άλλης Ελλάδος )
• Polybius 7.9.5: “Philip and Macedonians and the rest of Greeks“ (..Φιλίππον και
Μακεδόνων και υπό τών άλλων Ελλήνων)
• Julius Valerius Alexander Polemios I.18: omni Macedonia et et reliqua Graecia
conspirante
• Polybius 7.9.7: “Macedonians and the rest of Greeks” (..και Μακεδόνες και των
άλλων Ελλήνων)

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• Plutarch, Alexander’s Fortune 99.3.6: “Macedonians and the rest of Greeks”
(…Μακεδόνες και οι άλλοι Έλληνες)
• Arrian Ι.16.7: “Alexander, son of Philip and the Greeks..” (Αλέξανδρος Φιλίππου και
οι Έλληνες )
• Strabo, 10.2.23: “to the Macedonians and the rest of Greeks” (…πρός τε τους
Μακεδόνας και τους άλλους Έλληνας )
• Dio Chrysostom, Discourse on Kingship no. 4; 9 and 48:, Macedonians and the rest of
Greeks(…Μακεδόνας τε και τους άλλους Έλληνας )

IG XII,2 525: “…Alexander and the Greeks..” (..κα π λεµον ξε[νι]- [κ] µενος πρ ς
λ ξανδρον κα το ς λλανας το ς µ ν πολ ταις παρελ µενος τ πλα ξε- κλ ϊσε) (Eresos 332
BC)

IG X(2.1) no.1031 lines 6-7: “..Macedonians and the rest of Greeks..” (..και τους λοιπούς
Μακεδόνας και τους άλλους Έλληνας) (Olympia, Damon the Macedonian, 143 BC)

Syll. 3 nos. 372, lines 6 kai 7: “Kings and the rest of Greeks”, (..[υ]πό των βασιλέων και
/[τ]ών άλλων Ελλήνων) (Samothrace 288-281 BC)

Magnesia 6, 557, lines 30-31: “of the kings and the rest of Greeks“ (..των βασιλέων [κ]αί των
άλλ[ων] Ελλήνων απάν]τωµ) (Magnesia et Maian.: Artemis Leukofryni, 207/6 BC)

Syll.³ 398 590, line 30, “of the kings and the rest of Greeks” (..τοίς βασιλεύσι και τοις άλλοις
Έλλησι) (SbBerlin 24 (1905) 979-993, 196 BC)

Ephesos 163: ”..Macedonians and the rest of Greek ethne” (..ε ναι µ να καλο µενον παρ̣’
̣[µ] ν µ ν ρτεµισ[ι]- να, παρ δ Μακεδ σιν κα το ς λοιπο ς θνεσιν το ς λληνικο ς)
(Ephesos 160 BC)

Makedonika II: The Ancient Macedonian Language (Testimonia)

A. Testimonia

(a) In a scene from the Attic comedy “Macedonians”, by the 5th-century writer Strattis, an
Athenian asks ή σφύραινα δ‘ έ‘στι τίς;(’sled-fish, what do you mean?), and a
Macedonian replies “κέστραν μεν ΰμμες ώττικοΐ κικλήσκετε“ (‘wha ye Attics ca’ a
hammer-fush, ma freen’). In order to appreciate the value of the Macedonian’s reply for
the problem under discussion, we must not forget that, as is clear from many passages in
Aristophanes, the Attic comedians made their non-Greeks speak broken Greek with an
admixture of barbarian words (some of them imaginary), while Lacedaemonians,
Megarians, Boiotians and other Greeks spoke in their own dialects (albeit with a number

25

of inaccuracies). The Macedonian’s reply is in good Greek with dialect (ΰμμες,
σφύραινα) and archaizing (κικλήσκετε) elements.

(b) The ancient Geographer Strabo in his description of Macedonia writes:

Strabo 7.7.8: “But some go so far as to call the whole of the country Macedonia, as far as
Corcyra, at the same time stating as their reason that in tonsure, language, short cloak,
and other things of the kind, the usages of the inhabitants are similar”

Interestingly, we learn from the account of Strabo that Macedonians spoke similar
language to the people “as far as Corcyra”. Today we know Epirotes spoke a North-West
Greek so obviously the North-West Greek dialect was also spoken by Macedonians.

(c) Plutarch tells us the story of the infant Pyrrhus when his companions tried to save
Pyrrhus from Molossians and while heading to the court Of Glauκias, they came across
Megara, a Macedonian village in the other side of where they were standing. Apparently
the Macedonian peasants were able to read the message of the Epirotes guards of
Pyrrhus since they spoke the same language, thus they helped them.

Plutarch Pyrrhus II.1: “one recollecting himself, stripped off a piece of bark from an oak,
and wrote on it with the tongue of a buckle, stating the necessities and the
fortunes of the child, and then rolling it about a stone, which was made use of to give
force to the motion, threw it over to the other side, or, as some say, fastened it to the end of
a javelin, and darted it over. When the men on the other shore read what was on the
back, and saw how time pressed, without delay they cut down some trees, and lashing
them together, came over to them. And it so fell out, that he who first got ashore, and took

26

Pyrrhus in his arms, was named Achilles, the rest being helped over by others as they came
to hand.”

(d) Another piece of evidence connecting the North-West Greek lnaguage of
Epirotans with Macedonians comes from Pyrrhus life. Pyrrhus planted some of his
Epirotes into Macedonian army, pretending to be Macedonians while urging
Macedonians to get rid of Demetrius. This could be done only if Epirotes spoke the same
Greek dialect as Macedonians.

Plutarch Pyrrhus XI.4: “But while he lay encamped there near him, many who came out of
Beroea infinitely praised Pyrrhus as invincible in arms, a glorious warrior, who treated
those he had taken kindly and humanely. Several of these Pyrrhus himself sent
privately, pretending to be Macedonians, and saying, now was the time to be
delivered from the severe government of Demetrius, by coming over to Pyrrhus, a
gracious prince, and a lover of soldiers.”

(e) In the Philotas affair, it becomes even clearer Macedonian is a Greek dialect, since
Philotas explicitely states that using the Koine would make his speech “easier to
understand“, indicating that Macedonian dialect was not incomprehensible to the non-
Macedonians, but a bit more difficult to understand. In fact, the whole incident shows
the Macedonian dialect was not that different from the Koine and could be understood
eventhough it had some difficulty by other Greeks. This also explains the quick
disappearance of the Macedonian dialect and the quick adoption of the Koine from
Macedonians.

Curtius VII 9.25 – 11.7: “Alexander speaks: “The Macedonians are going to judge your
case,” he said. “Please state whether you will use your native language before
them.”Philotas: “Besides the Macedonians, there are many present who, I think, will find
what I am going to say easier to understand if I use the language you yourself have been
using, your purpose, I believe, being only to enable more people to understand you.”

(f) Alexander the Great, having selected thirty thousand Persian youths, gave an order
that they were ‘to learn Greek language and be trained in the use of Macedonian weapons’
From this it may be deduced that the Macedonian soldiers spoke Greek: it would be
pointless to teach the young Persians who were fighting along with Macedonians in a
language that the Macedonians did not understand.

Plutarch’s Alexander, 47,6: he also ordered that the troop of Persians “should learn the
Greek language and be trained to use Macedonian weapons” (εκέλευε γράμματά τε
ελληνικά μανθάνειν καί μακεδονικοίς όπλοις εντρέφεσθαι)
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Coin of Philip II

(g) In fact, Alexander and the Macedonians disseminated the Greek language throughout
the world they conquered; Alexander gave an order that the inscriptions which were in a
foreign language were to be explained in Greek, so that they would be comprehensible to
his troops.

Plutarch’s Alexander, 69,2: After reading the inscription, he ordered it to be repeated
below in Greek language (τήν επιγραφήν αναγνούς εκέλευσεν ελληνικοίς
υποχαράξαι γράμμασιν)

(h) An Ambassador of Macedonia, speaking to the Aitolians in 200 B.C. says the
Macedonians, the Aitolians and the Akrnanians that they spoke the same language.

T. Livius XXXI,29, 15: Aetolians, Acarnanians, Macedonians, men of the same
language.

(i) In another Instance we learn about the Branchidae, a Greek people, who, on the orders
of Xerxes, when he was returning from Greece, had emigrated from Miletus and settled
elsewhere. While the culture of their forebears had not yet disappeared though they were
now bilingual, the foreign tongue (Persian) had gradually eroded their own. Long
afterwards while Alexander came to their place, we find in literary sources that
Macedonians spoke the same Greek Language like the Greek-Speaking Branchidae!!

Curtius VII.5.29: “So it was with great joy that they welcomed Alexander, to whom they
surrendered themselves and their city. Alexander called a meeting of the Milesians in his
force, for the Milesians bore a long-standing grudge against the Branchidae as a clan.
Since they were the people betrayed by the Branchidae, Alexander let them decide freely on
their case, asking if they preferred to remember their injury or their common origins. But
when there was a difference of opinion over this, he declared that he would himself consider
28

the best course of action.When the Branchidae met him the next day, he told them to
accompany him. On reaching the city, he himself entered through the gate with a unit of
light-armed troops. The phalanx had been ordered to surround the city walls and, when the
signal was given, to sack this city which provided refuge for traitors, killing the
inhabitants to a man. The Branchidae, who were unarmed, were butchered throughout the
city, and neither community of language nor the olive-branches and entreaties of the
suppliants could curb the savagery. Finally the Macedonians dug down to the foundations
of the city walls in order to demolish them and leave not a single trace of the city.”

(j) Their Greek speech is indicated further by Pausanias who says that the inhabitants of
Messene recognized the intruders as Makedones, from their weapons and speech, which
at the time suggest that the Macedonian speech was understood by the populace of
Messene.

Pausanias Messeniaka XXIX, 3: “When day dawned and the inhabitants had realized the
danger that beset them, they were at first under the impression that the Lacedaemonians
had forced an entry into the town, and attacked them more recklessly owing to their
ancient hatred. But when they discovered from their equipment and speech that it
was the Macedonians and Demetrius the son of Philip, they were filled with great
fear, when they considered the Macedonian training in warfare and the good fortune which
they saw that they enjoyed in all their ventures.”

(k) Laomedon was a billingual Macedonian and furthemore Arrian informs us that he
was speaking Greek and Persian. Therefore we have another indirect evidence of
Macedonian being Greek.

Arrian. Anab. 3.6.6: Erigyius the command of te allied cavalry and his brother Laomedon,
who happened to be fluent in the Persian language as in Greek, was put in charge of
prisoners of war. (Λαομέδοντα δὲ τὸν τούτου ἀδελφόν, ὅτι δίγλωσσος ἦν ἐς τὰ
βαρβαρικὰ γράμματα, ἐπὶ τοῖς αἰχμαλώτοις βαρβάροις)

(l) Moreover another strengthening evidence comes from the event where Macedonians
in a man wearing a Greek chlamys, dressed in Greek and speaking Greek. These
Macedonians are moved into emotion and jubilation when they heard Greek being
spoken and learned from him that Alexander’s camp was not far away.

Arrian, “The Indica” XXXIII: There a man appeared to them, wearing a Greek
cloak, and dressed otherwise in the Greek fashion, and speaking Greek also. Those
[Macedonians] who first sighted him said that they burst into tears, so strange
did it seem after all these miseries to see a Greek, and to hear Greek spoken. They
29

asked whence he came, who he was; and he said that he had become separated from
Alexander’s camp, and that the camp, and Alexander himself, were not very far distant.
Shouting aloud and clapping their hands they brought this man to Nearchus.

(m) Last but not least, we find on Livius account a testimony where the Roman General
Paulus makes an announcement and Gnaeus Octavius to be translated it in Greek so that
the Macedonian population comprehends it.

T. Livius, XLV: General Paulus of Rome surrounded by the ten Commissioners took his
official seat surrounded by the whole crowds of Macedonians…Paulus announced in Latin
the decisions of the Senate, as well as his own, made by the advice of his council. This
announcement was translated into Greek and repeated by Gnaeus Octavius the
Praetor-for he too was present.

Conclusion:

Despite the lack of Macedonian texts written in the local language, the literary
sources point out ancient Macedonian to be a Greek dialect and more specifically a
North-West Greek dialect akin to the dialect spoken by Epirotes.

Makedonika II: The Ancient Macedonian Words

Today, over a hundred Macedonian words and a few hundred Macedonian names are
known from a variety of sources. Although the names presuppose words, they will be
examined separately for a number of methodological reasons.

A total of one hundred and twelve words, with ninety-nine different stems, are attested
directly. Of these, sixty-five words, or sixty-three stems, have been preserved in lexica,
while forty-seven words, with thirty-six stems, survive in various ancient texts, none of
which is Macedonian. All the words in the second group are Greek. The opponents of the
view that the Macedonians were Greeks refuse to take them into consideration, arguing
that they were all words borrowed by the Macedonians from Greek at the time they
began to use the Attic dialect as the official language — which they ascribe to the reign of
Philip II.

30

Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Θεσ/κης, PHOTO @ M. BOLARIS

However:
a) the word σφύραινα and the form ΰμμες are not Attic in origin and are being
attributed to the Macedonians half a century before the accession of Philip (see
above);

b) the majority of these words are military and, as has already been observed, it would
be illogical to suppose that Philip would impose a foreign military terminology on the
Macedonians; moreover, twelve of these same words are not attested as common to all
dialects and fourteen more, while being common words, have a different meaning in
Macedonian.

In dealing with the Macedonian material in the lexica, the opponents of the view that the
Macedonians were Greeks have made use to varying extents of the following method:
they select from amongst these words the ones that cannot be shown to have a Greek
derivation; they do not always inquire whether the form of some of these has changed as
a result of copying errors; they suggest derivations for these words from Indo-European
roots without always demonstrating adequately that their derivations are well-
grounded; using this kind of etymology as their point of departure they draw up rules
for the conversion of Indo-European vowels or consonants to ‘Macedonian’; finally, since
the same rules can be detected in words that are not attested as Macedonian in the
sources, they declare that these words, notwithstanding, should be considered
Macedonian.”

The latest, and most complete, monograph on the nationality of the Macedonians,
devotes hundreds of pages to the study of Macedonian words, and contains some
perceptive critical observations and original views. It concludes that fifty-two of the
31

sixty-five words in the lexica are Greek, while the remaining thirteen include not only
genuinely non-Greek words but also ambiguous forms, copyists’ errors and words
used by children.

Let us assume, however, that all the Macedonian words handed down by the lexica are
demonstrably non-Greek (which is not claimed even by the most extreme opponents of
the theory that the Macedonians were Greeks). Even in this eventuality, it would not
necessarily follow that the Macedonians did not speak Greek. The reason is that these
words are not a representative sample of the Macedonian tongue. This would require
that they had been preserved at random and from a variety of sources. Quite the reverse
is true: they have all been catalogued in lexica whose purpose is the interpretation of
rare words only. It follows that the Alexandrian scholars who were the first to compose
lexica of this sort (the forerunners of the surviving lexica in which the words in question
are preserved) found only a few dozen Macedonian words that required interpretation.
However, there is no language or dialect that does not have a number of words of
foreign origin.

Bibliography
Akamatis, I. M: Η γλώσσα των αρχαίων Μακεδόνων· νέα στοιχεία από την Πέλλα
Brixhe, Cl./Panayotou, A. (1988). ‘ L’ Atticisation de la Macedoine’ Verbum
11, 245-260
Hatzopoulos, M. B. (1999): ‘Le Macedonien: Nouvelles Donnees et Theories nouvelles’
Archaia Makedonia VI Thessalonike, Institute for Balkan Studies 225-232

Hoffman, O. (1906): Die Makedonen: ihre Sprache und ihr Volkstum Gottingen,
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht

Kapetanopoulos, E. (1993): Xennias, ‘Μακεδονίζων την φωνήν’, Αρχαιολογική
Εφημερίς

O’ Neil, J. L.: ‘Doric forms in Macedonian inscriptions’ Sydney

Sakellariou, M. B. (1988): ‘Macedonia, 4000 years of Greek history and Civilization’,
Ekdotiki Athenon

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